Top Glove: EMCO at dormitories affects 5,700 workers

KUALA LUMPUR: The 14-day enhanced movement control order (EMCO) imposed at Top Glove Corp Bhd’s foreign worker dormitories in Meru, Klang, effective today affects 5,700 workers and not 13,190 as reported, the company said.

In a statement today, the rubber glove manufacturer said the affected workers represent about 27% of its total employees numbering 21,000.

“Our factories in Meru continue to operate with reduced capacity and workers not under the EMCO are working under strict standard operating procedures in line with the Ministry of Health guidelines.

“The majority of the affected workers are asymptomatic and do not have symptoms like fever or any sickness,” Top Glove noted.

Yesterday, Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was reported as saying 13,190 workers residing in the company’s dormitories in Klang, as well as 1,200 residents in the surrounding area would be placed under EMCO until Nov 30.

The government move is another jolt for the world’s largest latex-glove maker whose profits and shares hit record highs in 2020 as demand for medical gloves and protective gear skyrocketed due to the pandemic.

TA Securities analyst Tan Kong Jin said the measures were likely to hurt Top Glove’s operations only minimally.

“If the infections rise dramatically and (the lockdown) is extended, then we probably have to change our (earnings) forecast,” he said.

“Even then, we will monitor glove selling prices, as supply may tighten,” he said, noting that margins may ultimately improve for Top Glove.

The company commands a quarter of the global latex glove market. Top Glove runs 47 factories across Malaysia, Thailand, China and Vietnam, with 36 of them producing gloves. It posted a record profit in its latest quarter, and its shares are up fourfold this year.

But its fortunes have fluctuated in recent months after it was hit by an American import ban on two of its subsidiaries, and more recently by positive news on development of vaccines to prevent the coronavirus. – Bernama, Reuters